


The Ledge

by Mae_Elaine



Category: Original Work
Genre: Angst, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Grief/Mourning, Hurt/Comfort, One Shot, POV First Person, POV Original Female Character, Short, Short & Sweet, Short One Shot, tw: mentions of death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-01
Updated: 2021-01-01
Packaged: 2021-03-11 02:15:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 551
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28477518
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mae_Elaine/pseuds/Mae_Elaine
Summary: “This is my life now,” I declared. “I’ve climbed this hill and now I will die upon it.”“Shut up,” complained Liv, “We’ve only been hiking for twenty minutes.” She rolled her eyes and continued up the never-ending path, leaving me behind.
Relationships: No Romantic Relationship(s), Original Female Character & Original Female Character
Kudos: 2





	The Ledge

The Ledge  
By: Mae Elaine

“This is my life now,” I declared. “I’ve climbed this hill and now I will die upon it.”

“Shut up,” complained Liv, “We’ve only been hiking for twenty minutes.” She rolled her eyes and continued up the never-ending path, leaving me behind.

“Wait!” I cried, standing up and breathing in deeply through my nose. I’d always hated hiking. Mosquitos were eating me alive. I'm not sure if my light-headedness was due to the heat, or blood loss from the ticks that were surely draining my veins. Liv loves hiking. I promised her that I would go with her to the top, but I felt as though I couldn't go on.

“I'm not gonna wait for you, Abby, ” she replied curtly. I didn't say anything more; my continuing to walk was answer enough. My legs burned. Catching a glimpse of the autumn leaves on the ground brought forth a memory from when I was a girl. My father carried me on his back, up a hill much like this one. My days of nature walks were long since abandoned, since the day my Dad didn't come home from work. My mom had said that she saw his face in the leaves, and in the patterns in the dirt, but I saw nothing. Nothing I could do would bring him back. All Liv ever wanted to do was go, go, go. I wanted to break something. I wanted to smash something into little bits. I wanted to crush something like my father's death crushed me.

I was pulled out of my thoughts by Livs enthusiastic voice. ”We’re here!” she sang. I raided my eyebrows, perplexed. We were nowhere close to the top of the hill. She put her bag down on a ledge and picked up a small stone. I jumped as she angrily threw it off the edge; it landed in the fierce waters below. Realizing what her intentions were, I grinned and set down my pack next to hers. I mimicked her actions, a small grunt escaping my lips as the rock left my hand. We flung rock after rock into the abyss below us, until I was breathing heavy, feeling devoid of anger. I slid down to the ground, and Liv joined me, resting her head on my shoulder. I played with my ring, a wave of grief crashing over me. It was as if each rock I hurled put a crack into my defenses until they shattered. Liv hugged me as the tears spilled out of my eyes. Just like the rocks, I had been peaceful. I was happy, and content, and grateful for all I had. That was until someone came in and hurled me all the way back into the waters, forcing me to begin the climb back up from square one. It was then that the thought occurred to me: this was Liv’s plan all along. We did this for me so that I could come up here and take my anger out on the waves instead of my own family.

”You're the best ‘best friend’ I could have ever asked for,” I told her, a bittersweet smirk taking over my face. This one outing had added so much more significance to this tiny ledge, to which I hoped to return.


End file.
